'Koffee With Karan' Season 5 Is Breaking Stereotypes And Kicking Homophobia Out Of The Door

Mainstream cinema, especially in India, has always steered clear of subjects that are only talked of in hushed tones. There must be some reason why Bollywood still doesn’t have its own ‘Brokeback Mountain’. The reason is homophobia. Even with filmmakers constantly trying to push the envelope with films on gay love, A-listers have always shied away from portraying the community. Until now. 2016 has seen slightly better. Karan Johar has been addressing the elephant in the room with films like ‘Bombay Talkies’ and the much recent ‘Kapoor And Sons’ directed by Shakun Batra.

An icon as popular as Fawad Khan, especially with the women, playing a gay man, that too without reducing the character to a mere, laughable and effeminate caricature in a blockbuster film was a huge step for Indian cinema.

Being constantly ‘gay-shamed’ for all these years has only made Karan Johar strike back harder. He’s done denying rumours around his sexual orientation. He’s much happier in his skin and wouldn’t give up on his peace of mind on the many ‘conjectures’ floating around.

He pouts and dances as he pleases and if that makes you feel uncomfortable, well, you’re suffering from a serious case of homophobia too.

The day Bollywood makes its first mainstream gay love story might still be far, but with the latest season of his talk show ‘Koffee With Karan’, Johar is definitely giving us hope that Bollywood might just be rising above homophobia once and for all.

It all started with the first episode where Shah Rukh Khan, the biggest star Bollywood has ever seen, and Karan Johar, the most popular director ‘owned up’ to their relationship, even marriage.

Twinkle Khanna and Karan Johar discussed whether Akshay Kumar might come back with changed preferences after getting stuck on an island with Karan Johar. Karan Johar openly dropped this major hint and Akshay Kumar took it like a compliment.

Karan Johar introduced a new game that made Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh kiss Arjun Kapoor on national television. And guess what, they happily obliged without caring about what people would call them later!

Just 4 episodes in and the show is already breaking barriers and pushing the envelope. Thanks to our A-listers, homosexuality and homophobia both have become prime time conversations. Here’s to a new start, Bollywood!